Hello,I hope you are well.I work for an IT Company. Im

Customer Question

Hello, I hope you are well. I work for an IT Company. Im currently abscent from work with Anxiety. Not work related. My newly appointed manager wants to take my territory (london) accts from me. SHe would then align a small account set that wont generate as much revenue and as such wont generate as much bonus. I feel like Im being demoted. Can she do this? Thank you in advance. Emma XXXXX

Yes it happens from time to time. But this is normally done at a team level not an indivdual level.

JACUSTOMER-3t9fnajy- :

It only my accounts that are changing .

JACUSTOMER-3t9fnajy- :

The rest of the alignments in the team are staying as they are.

Ben Jones :

and by being off sick does it mean you cannot do work on the accounts and the employer has to find someone else to replace you?

JACUSTOMER-3t9fnajy- :

My accts are being covered

JACUSTOMER-3t9fnajy- :

I can work from home. But I have been asked not to log in as Im on sick.

JACUSTOMER-3t9fnajy- :

Im being told that they need someone on my acct set on a pro active basis due to the spend.

JACUSTOMER-3t9fnajy- :

I have been moved onto an account set that is not buying

JACUSTOMER-3t9fnajy- :

Ben, this will massively impact my earn ing potential for the next 12 months. So are what you are saying is I need to refer to the specifics in my contract ?

JACUSTOMER-3t9fnajy- :

I was just perturbed that this could happen whilst im on sick. I feel like Im being discrimated against as Im not in the office.

Ben Jones :

a lot will depend on what is in your contract and what your employer can do under its terms. However, assuming it is silent then it can potentially give you further rights

JACUSTOMER-3t9fnajy- :

Can you explain a bit more about what you mean '' assuming it is silent''?

JACUSTOMER-3t9fnajy- :

Not mentioned specifically?

Ben Jones :

yes, if there is no mention about this in there

JACUSTOMER-3t9fnajy- :

I see- thank you for clarfying. Therfore I need to read my contract in detail and take it from there?

Ben Jones :

yes you do and I can give you advice on what you can do if there is nothing in there

JACUSTOMER-3t9fnajy- :

Perfect .

JACUSTOMER-3t9fnajy- :

Thank you

Ben Jones :

ok won't be too long

JACUSTOMER-3t9fnajy- :

I will refer to my contract and terms and come back to you

JACUSTOMER-3t9fnajy- :

Once I have this detail, How Do I contact you directly?

Ben Jones :

just get back to me on this page, I will provide you with my advice in the meantime

JACUSTOMER-3t9fnajy- :

Will do thank you .

JACUSTOMER-3t9fnajy- :

I will obtain this and come back to you tomorrow or Tuesday. Thank you for the guidance so far .

Ben Jones :

To give you the advice on what your rights are then this could potentially amount to constructive dismissal, which occurs when the following two elements are present:

Serious breach of contract by the employer; and

An acceptance of that breach by the employee, who in turn treats the contract of employment as at an end. The employee must act in response to the breach and must not delay any action too long.

A common breach by the employer occurs when they, or their employees, have broken the implied term of trust and confidence. The conduct relied on could be a single act, or a series of less serious acts over a period of time, which together could be treated as serious enough (usually culminating in the 'last straw' scenario).

The affected employee would initially be expected to raise a formal grievance in order to officially bring their concerns to the employer's attention and give them an opportunity to try and resolve them. If the issues are so bad that the employee can't even face raising a grievance, or if a grievance has been raised but has been unsuccessful, then they can consider resigning straight away.

If resignation appears to be the only option, it must be done without undue delay so as not to give an impression that the employer's breach has been accepted. Any resignation would normally be with immediate effect and without providing any notice period. It is advisable to resign in writing, stating the reasons for the resignation and that this is being treated as constructive dismissal.

Following the resignation, the option of pursuing a claim for constructive dismissal exists. This is only available to employees who have at least 2 years' continuous service. There is a time limit of 3 months less a day from the date of resignation to submit a claim in the employment tribunal.

As an alternative to resigning, the employer may be approached on a without prejudice basis (i.e. off the record) to try and discuss the possibility of leaving under a compromise agreement. Under a compromise agreement, the employee gets compensated for leaving the company and in return promises not to make any claims against the employer in the future. It is essentially a clean break, although the employer does not have to agree to it so it will be subject to negotiation.

Just to make a final, yet important point, constructive dismissal can be a difficult claim to win as the burden of proof is entirely on the employee. Therefore, constructive dismissal should only be used as a last resort and all else fails.

JACUSTOMER-3t9fnajy- :

I dont wish to leave my employment. I want to resolve the issue .

Ben Jones :

There is nothing that would guarantee a resolution to this issue I'm afraid. You can try all you can whilst still in employment, such as by going through the grievance procedure, but if that is unsuccessful and your employer does not change anything then unfortunately there is little you can do to force them to act the way you want them to. That is when the constructive dismissal option comes in and even if it is not something you wish to do, it may be the only option left for you.

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